Accessible Tourism

TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE โ€“ Edition 42 (2009) โ€“ Friday, 10 July 2009

TRAVEL IMPACT NEWSWIRE โ€“ Edition 42 (2009) โ€“ Friday, 10 July 2009

29 Years of Distinction in Travel Journalism.

Launched in August 1998, Travel Impact Newswire provides unmatched, thought-provoking coverage of big-picture issues and trends that impact global travel & tourism. Executive Editor: Imtiaz Muqbil.

1. TARGETS IN โ€œBLUEPRINT FOR BETTER WORLDโ€ STALLED IN 2008 AND ARE IN DANGER OF REVERSING

The global financial crisis may have only slowed travel & tourism flows, but for millions of people all over the world, it has made them hungrier and poorer and deprived them of basic health and education. In a progress report on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) issued last week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon writes, โ€œThe poor have suffered most from the upheaval of the past yearโ€ฆ.Economic hardship has pushed tens of millions of people into vulnerable employment and increased the number of those who, though employed, do not earn enough for themselves and their families to rise above the poverty line of $1.25 a day.โ€ Adds UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang, โ€œNot surprisingly, children bear the brunt of the burden.โ€

Although virtually unknown in the travel & tourism industry, the MDGs are of major importance because they are intended to address many of the underlying, and destabilising, root causes of an imbalanced world. Travel & tourism will not survive, leave aside thrive, in a globalised world of inter-connected problems of such magnitude. Referred to as a โ€œblueprint for a better world,โ€ the goals were set by world leaders at a landmark Millennium Summit in 2000, with a time-frame for achievement in 15 years. But last weekโ€™s Progress Report says that more than halfway to the deadline, major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and food crises.

Writes Mr. Ban in the foreword to the Report, โ€œWe have made important progress in this effort, and have many successes on which to build. But we have been moving too slowly to meet our goals. And today, we face a global economic crisis whose full repercussions have yet to be felt. At the very least, it will throw us off course in a number of key areas, particularly in the developing countries. At worst, it could prevent us from keeping our promises, plunging millions more into poverty and posing a risk of social and political unrest. That is an outcome we must avoid at all costs.โ€

Added Under-Secretary General Mr Sha, โ€œProgress towards the goals is now threatened by sluggish โ€” or even negative โ€” economic growth, diminished resources, fewer trade opportunities for the developing countries, and possible reductions in aid flows from donor nations. At the same time, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, with a potentially devastating impact on countries rich and poor. Today, more than ever, the commitment to building the global partnership embodied in the Millennium Declaration must guide our collective actions.โ€

Issued in response to a request by the UN General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress, the reportโ€™s data was compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the UNโ€™s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It paints a mixed picture of the situation:

Gains in the eradication of hunger since the early 1990s, when the proportion of hungry people decreased from 20% in 1990-92 to 16% in 2004-06, were reversed in 2008, largely due to higher food prices. A decrease in international food prices in the second half of 2008 has since failed to translate into more affordable food for most people around the world.

Between 1990-2005, the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion (prior to the economic crisis and higher food prices). In 2009, an estimated 55 million to 90 million more people will be living in extreme poverty than anticipated before the crisis.

Global unemployment in 2009 could reach 6.1% to 7% for men and 6.5% to 7.4% for women, many of whom remain trapped in insecure โ€œoften unpaidโ€ jobs, holding back progress towards gender equality.

More than one-quarter of children in developing regions are underweight for their age, and the meagre progress on child nutrition from 1990 to 2007 is insufficient to meet the 2015 target.

Furthermore, the report suggests that many global gains were due to a dramatic fall in poverty rates in East Asia. Elsewhere, progress has been slower. Sub-Saharan Africa counted 100 million more extremely poor people in 2005 than in 1990, and the poverty rate remained above 50%.

The ability of countries themselves to finance development programmes may also be in jeopardy. Export revenues of developing countries fell in the last quarter of 2008, as the financial meltdown in high-income economies began to trickle down. The debt service to export ratio of developing countries is likely to deteriorate further, especially for those countries that enjoyed increased export revenues for the last several years.

MAJOR ADVANCES BEFORE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

The report portrays remarkable advances that many countries and regions had made before the economic landscape changed so radically in 2008:

CALL TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS

In his foreword, Mr Ban said, โ€œThe global community cannot turn its back on the poor and the vulnerable. Now is the time to accelerate progress towards the MDGs. The goals are within reach, and even in the very poor countries, with strong political commitment and sufficient and sustained funding.โ€ The report calls on governments and all stakeholders to revitalize efforts to provide productive and decent employment for all, including women and young people. It points out that employment opportunities for women in Southern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia remain extremely low.

The target of eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 has already been missed. The report urges governments to intensify efforts to get all children into school, especially those living in rural communities, and eliminate inequalities in education based on gender and ethnicity.

Greater political will must be mustered to reduce maternal mortality, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, according to the report. Rapid acceleration of progress is needed to bring improved sanitation toilets or latrines to the 1.4 billion people still lacking, or the 2015 sanitation target will be missed. And slum improvements are barely keeping pace with the rapid growth of developing country cities.

According to Mr Ban, โ€œHonouring the commitment to increase aid is critical. Equally important is ensuring that the interests of the developing countries, and especially the poorest ones, remain central in negotiations on trade. We must also โ€˜seal the dealโ€™ on a new climate change regime in Copenhagen in December. The timing is ripe for making the structural changes that are needed to move more decisively towards more equitable development and sustainability and to address the climate crisis. Nothing less than the viability of our planet and the future of humanity are at stake.โ€

2. WOMEN MOST AFFECTED BY FINANCIAL/ECONOMIC CRISIS โ€“ U.N. REPORT

Women are likely to be most profoundly affected by the financial crisis over the long-term, says the MDGs progress report. Indeed, if there is one reason why the MDGs should be taken very seriously by the travel & tourism industry, it is because this industry is one of the most important employers of women and two of the eight MDGs relate directly to womenโ€™s issues, viz., jobs, empowerment, gender gaps and their role as mothers and workers. Indeed, females are affected right across the spectrum of socio-economic development, from access to education for girls to equitable status and pay in jobs as well as life-and-death issues such as maternal health.

With the financial crisis and high prices for primary commodities leading to job cuts, the report quotes projections by the UN International Labour Organisation that the global jobless rate in 2009 could reach between 6.3% and 7.1%. However, the jobless rate among women will be higher, from 6.5 to 7.4% (compared to 6.1 to 7% for men).

โ€œThis means that an additional 24 million to 52 million people worldwide may be unemployed, of which 10 million to 22 million will be women,โ€ the report says. โ€œThe ILO estimates that, in December 2008, there were 12.8% more unemployed men and 6.7% more unemployed women in the world than in December 2007.โ€ Although the number of unemployed men increased at a faster rate than the number of unemployed women, especially during the second half of 2008, โ€œmore recent data show that womenโ€™s unemployment is likely to continue increasing at a rapid pace, while the rate of increase of menโ€™s unemployment is slowing.โ€

โ€œThis suggests that after the initial shock in male-dominated industries, the financial crisis is now hitting female-dominated industries and services and may affect women more profoundly over the long term.โ€

The report says that globally, the share of women in paid employment outside the agricultural sector has continued to increase marginally over the years. But in Southern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia, employment opportunities for women remain extremely low. Although more women have been able to secure paid jobs outside agriculture, they have generally failed to access decent work. Close to two thirds of all employed women have vulnerable jobs, either as contributing family workers or as own-account workers.

It says that the job situation of women is particularly dismal in Oceania and Southern Asia, where the largest share of womenโ€™s employment is as contributing family workers โ€” 64% and 46%, respectively. โ€œThese labourers, also known as unpaid family workers, are family members who freely give their time to family-owned businesses. The large share of unpaid jobs adds to the already heavy burden of unpaid work carried out by women in households in all regions, which is not reflected in official labour force statistics,โ€ the progress report says.

The following are excerpts from the progress report on two MDGs which have direct relevance to women, as mothers, child-bearers and workers.

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women.

TARGET: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015[/h4] The world continues to progress towards gender parity in education as measured by the ratio of girlsโ€™ to boysโ€™ gross enrolment. In the developing regions as a whole, 95 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 2007, compared to 91 in 1999. However, the target of eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 was missed. Ensuring that the opportunity is not lost again in 2015 will require renewed urgency and commitment.

In 2007, only 53 of the 171 countries with available data had achieved gender parity (defined by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics as a girlsโ€™ to boysโ€™ enrolment ratio of between 97 and 103) in both primary and secondary education. That is 14 more countries than in 1999. Still, the fact that over 100 countries have yet to reach the target is a source of concern.

The gender gap in school enrolment is more evident in secondary education, where many more countries are falling behind. The gap is especially wide in countries in which overall enrolment is low, since increases in secondary school enrolment tend to be accompanied by reductions in gender disparities. Many factors have contributed to progress, including increased primary school enrolment and completion for girls and falling poverty rates. In numerous countries, public policy has also played a pivotal role.

The notable exceptions to a generally improving situation are sub-Saharan Africa, where the ratio of girlsโ€™ to boysโ€™ enrolment in secondary education fell from 82 in 1999 to 79 in 2007; Oceania, where the ratio fell from 89 to 87; and the CIS, where it fell from 101 to 98 over the same period.

A very different situation emerges at higher levels of education.

Worldwide, there are more young women than men enrolled in tertiary education. The ratio of girlsโ€™ to boysโ€™ enrolment globally at the tertiary level rose from 96 in 1999 to 108 in 2007. But disparities among regions are dramatic. A large gap in favour of girls exists in the developed regions, CIS countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South- Eastern Asia. Far fewer female students than males have advanced to tertiary education in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and Oceania.

Available data show that 60% of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education, 30% in secondary education and only 6% in tertiary education. Globally, disparities in favour of girls increase significantly at higher level of schooling.

However, this reflects mostly the situation in more developed countries, where overall enrolment โ€” and tertiary enrolment โ€” is high. In those settings, boys tend to do less well in school. In poorer countries, and in countries in which overall enrolment is low, the disadvantage for girls persists at higher levels of education and is usually more evident.

Girls born into impoverished households or living in rural communities are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of education. An analysis of primary school attendance in 108 developing countries by location of residence and household wealth reveals that gender parity has been reached in urban areas and among the richest 40% of households. In contrast, girls are more likely to be excluded from primary education in rural localities and when they reside in the poorest households.

Gender disparities associated with poverty and rural residency are even more pronounced at the level of secondary education. Cultural attitudes and practices that promote early marriage, encourage the seclusion of young girls or attach greater value to educating boys than girls can create formidable barriers to gender parity. Yet targeted public policy and governance initiatives can help overcome gender inequalities. For example, removing school fees and providing incentives for girls to attend school can alleviate financial pressures on households. Building schools close to remote communities and recruiting local teachers can also narrow the gender gap in rural areas.

FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

The proportion of seats held by women in parliament continues to rise slowly, averaging 18% across all chambers of parliament as of January 2009. Women hold 30% or more of single or lower chamber seats in 24 countries and 30% or more of upper chamber seats in 15 countries. These front-runner countries are diverse: in addition to developed countries, they include post-conflict and developing states in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. At the other end of the spectrum, one quarter of all parliamentary chambers still have less than 10% women members.

Following parliamentary elections and renewals in 2008, some impressive gains were registered in Latin America and the Caribbean, where women hold 22% of all seats, the highest regional average. Cuba registered the highest proportion of women members (43%) in this region during 2008.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to make strides, with Rwanda out in front: it made history in September 2008 when its lower chamber elected a majority (56%) of women members. In Western Asia, four women were elected to Kuwaitโ€™s parliament for the first time in May 2009, after gaining the right to stand for election only four years previously โ€” a major step forward for women in that country.

Women still hold less than 10% of parliamentary seats in Oceania, Northern Africa and Western Asia. In Qatar, no women were appointed to the 35-member Qatari Advisory Council in 2008 and, along with the Federated States of Micronesia and Saudi Arabia, has never had a woman member of parliament.

Similarly, in 2008 parliamentary elections in Nauru, Palau (lower chamber) and Tonga, no women won seats. In the Caribbean, no women were elected to the Belize lower chamber in 2008.

Proportional representation electoral systems enable a greater number of women to be elected than majority electoral systems.

The use of temporary special measures or quotas has also proven effective in getting more women into politics. During 2008, women held an average of 24% of parliamentary seats in countries that used such measures, versus 18% in countries that did not. In addition to quotas, other mechanisms that support women running for election include leadership training and campaign funding.

Worldwide, women are entering a greater variety of political leadership positions. As of January 2009, women reached the highest parliamentary position โ€” presiding officer โ€” in 31 parliamentary chambers. This figure has remained more or less constant for the past decade. During 2008, a woman took up the post of speaker for the first time in Pakistan, Romania, Rwanda, Serbia and Uzbekistan. There were 15 women serving as heads of state or government in March 2009, compared to nine in 2000 and 12 in 1995.

MDG 5 Improve maternal health. TARGET: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

Least progress has been made in achieving this goal. Every year, an estimated 536,000 women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks following delivery. Almost all of these deaths (99%) occur in developing countries. Maternal mortality is among the health indicators that show the greatest gap between the rich and the poor โ€” both between countries and within them.

Developed regions report nine maternal deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 450 maternal deaths in developing regions, where 14 countries have maternal mortality ratios of at least 1,000 per 100,000 live births. Half of all maternal deaths (265,000) occur in sub-Saharan Africa and another third (187,000) in Southern Asia. Together, these two regions account for 85% of all maternal deaths.

Measuring maternal mortality is challenging at best.

The available trend data indicate that there has been little progress in the developing world as a whole โ€” 480 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in 1990 compared to 450 deaths in 2005 โ€” and that the small decline reflects progress only in some regions. Eastern Asia, Northern Africa, and South- Eastern Asia showed declines of 30% or more between 1990 and 2005. Southern Asia reports a decline of more than 20% over the same period, yet the number of deaths in that region remains unacceptably high. Very little progress has been made in sub-Saharan Africa, where women face the greatest lifetime risk of dying as a result of pregnancy and childbirth.

Many health problems among pregnant women are preventable, detectable or treatable through visits with trained health workers before birth. The UN Childrenโ€™s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend a minimum of four antenatal visits. These enable women to receive important services, such as tetanus vaccinations and screening and treatment for infections, as well as potentially life-saving information on warning signs during pregnancy.

Since the 1990s, the proportion of pregnant women in the developing world who had at least one antenatal care visit increased from around 64% to 79%. However, a substantially lower proportion of pregnant women receive the standard set of four visits recommended by WHO and UNICEF. The proportion of women who receive four or more antenatal visits is still less than 50% in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where the majority of maternal deaths occur. These figures have changed little over the last decade, indicating that maternal health and the provision of reproductive health services in those regions have scarcely advanced.

Young adolescents are more likely to die or experience complications in pregnancy and childbirth than adult women. Moreover, the children of these young mothers have a higher risk of morbidity and mortality.

Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their twenties. Pregnancy early in life contributes to the estimated 70,000 maternal deaths among girls aged 15 to 19 every year. An infantโ€™s risk of dying in his or her first year of life is 60% higher when the mother is under age 18 than when the mother is 18 or older.

The adolescent birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19. This age range includes not only young adolescents but also women aged 18 and over who experience lower morbidity and mortality risks during pregnancy and childbirth than their younger counterparts. Nevertheless, high birth rates for adolescents overall typically include large numbers of early teen pregnancies, sometimes outside of marriage. These pregnancies often occur under circumstances that are not only detrimental to a motherโ€™s health but also to her educational prospects and opportunities for social and economic advancement.

Early marriage, often involving the union of a young woman to a much older man, contributes to the large number of teenage pregnancies. The latest estimates, based on survey data for the period 1998-2007, indicate that in Southern Asia, 49% of women 20 to 24 years old were married before age 18. In countries of Western and Central Africa, 44% of women in the same age group were married before age 18. In Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique and Niger, more than half of all women are married by age 18 and more than a third are mothers by that age.

Funding gaps are conspicuous for programmes needed to meet MDG 5, the goal towards which least progress has been made thus far. To take just one example: the strengthening and expansion of family planning programmes can make a major contribution to improvements in maternal and child health, but require adequate funding and access to supplies. Yet, since the mid-1990s, most developing countries have experienced a major reduction of donor funding for family planning on a per woman basis.

By:
When: 7/2/2014

Last modified: Friday, 07 February 2014 06:02:58 Valid XHTML 1.1